The Enigma Factor

He sat down and ordered breakfast. The waitress brought his food quickly, and he consumed it with a vengeance. Feeling much better and ready to find Quip and Petra, he had no real way of reaching either of them unless he saw them. Jacob signed the ticket with his room number, printing his name as indicated.

            The waitress returned several minutes later asking Jacob if he could rewrite his room number on the check. She began shaking her head with a weak smile at him, saying that he must be mistaken about the room number because in checking that room and his name, he was not registered in the hotel. She asked if he had another form of payment for the meal.

            “You need to go check again,” Jacob was beginning to really get angry though he knew that taking it out on the waitress was pointless. “If that doesn’t work, then I want to speak to your manager.”

            The waitress went away to recheck and returned a few minutes later with her manager in tow. The manager conveyed the same information that the waitress had provided and asked for an alternate form of payment. Jacob handed over his credit card, signed the check and left in search of someone he knew. It was beginning to look like a bad dream scenario rather than a new day.

            Jacob wandered around for a while near the DEFCON entrance hoping to catch sight of anyone he knew, as well as to walk off his mad. Mulling over the weirdness from this morning was getting him nowhere. Unless someone was entering or exiting, he really had no view of the attendees. After an hour or so of loitering, he decided that he wouldn’t see anyone until the end of the session. Frustrated, he went back through the casino. He found he was a bit lucky when trying a few of the slots, but gambling was not his thing. Even the cutie that tried to pick him up didn’t even spark his interest. His thoughts unexpectedly went to Petra. Frustrated, he decided to return to his room and pack. If he couldn’t get into DEFCON, then he was going home. He could work from home or the hotel room, and Vegas held no fascination for him.

            At the door to his room, he repeatedly ran his door keycard to access his room but was getting no green light. The cleaning lady was servicing the room across the hall, so he asked if she would be so kind as to open the door since his key wouldn’t work. She indicated this was not permitted but would be happy to call her supervisor for approval. Reaching her supervisor, the cleaning lady exchanged information with her, but much like the restaurant earlier, the conversation ended with the same result. He was simply not registered.

            Jacob was angry and terse and practically yelling at the poor cleaning woman when a strong hand latched onto his shoulder. Turning him around, the security guard suggested that Jacob accompany him. Jacob knew better than to cause a fight. These guys knew their business and were totally connected for communication all over the casino.

            As they walked toward the elevators, Jacob said, “Hey man, all I want to do is get my belongings from my room and leave the hotel.”

            The guard was kind but stern. “We are going to the security chief and see what the next steps should be. You’ve been identified from an earlier incident in the restaurant near the event halls and by DEFCON security guards.